Europe’s cloud infrastructure services providers (CISPE) are up in arms over Broadcom’s move to scrap license terms for key virtualisation software.
The body said it’s pandemonium as public sector bodies, big European firms, and the little guys – SMEs and startups – are tizzy over the nasty new contract terms and eye-watering price hikes.
CISPE is demanding, at the very least, a time-out on Broadcom’s contract endings and a get-out clause from Broadcom’s iron-clad multi-year deals as soon as a decent alternative pops up.
There is a concern that without VMware’s magic, some CISPE members will go belly-up.
Some are so hooked on VMware’s tech that it’s 75 per cent of their bread and butter. If this licensing kerfuffle isn’t sorted, we’re discussing a full-blown online service shutdown, including life-saving medical accounts.
The CISPE warns that if this trend continues, affordable cloud services and Europe’s digital dreams will be in jeopardy.
Broadcom’s yanked hundreds of products without so much as a by-your-leave, rejigging what’s left into new deals that jack up costs for customers without any fancy tech upgrades.
Vendors are biting their nails, not knowing if they’ll even get a golden ticket to Broadcom’s swanky new partner shindigs.
CISPE said those who do get the nod are being strong-armed into signing up for deals that are not the best.
We’re talking minimum commitments that’ll make your eyes water—tens of millions of quid over three years. And hold onto your hats—license costs have shot up by a whopping 1,200 per cent in some cases!
CISPE’s Francisco Mingorance said that Broadcom was holding the sector to ransom, milking VMware’s clout to squeeze out unfair rents from European cloud punters, shafting European customers and cloud service providers, hiking up costs, and slashing choice.
With VMware hogging almost 45 per cent of the cloud virtualisation market in 2023, Broadcom’s acting like the schoolyard bully, muscling in as a ‘Gatekeeper’ under the DMA’s rules.
CISPE’s rallying cry to the regulators is clear: Get stuck into Broadcom’s antics and bring them to book.
Mingorance didn’t hold back, blasting that these stunts will kneecap Europe’s independent cloud sector and snuff out customer choice.
